6 Tips For Selecting The Perfect Job

Are you ready for a change in your career? If you answered yes, you are not the only one.

According to the 2004 U.S. Job Recovery and Retention Survey released by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and CareerJournal.com, 38% percent of the human resource professionals surveyed said they have noticed an increase in turnover since the beginning of 2004.

Why are people leaving? According to the survey, better compensation, better career opportunities, and dissatisfaction with their current job. The job market is shifting. More jobs are being created. Demand is up and supply is beginning to drop. It may be an employee's market sooner than we think.

If you are ready to switch jobs, it's important to make a good decision. You don't want to walk into someone else's nightmare. You want to make a good choice, not ANY choice, but the right one.

So, How Can You Make Sure You Make A Good Choice?

Start with the interview. Listen to your heart. Most people who are unhappy in their jobs knew on the interview that the job was not right for them. They chose to ignore their intuition because they wanted the money or the prestige of having that company or title on their resume.

Don't let the wrong job happen to you. Follow the tips below to make sure it doesn't.

If You Don't Get Along With Your Boss On The Interview, You Never Will

Clicking with your boss is essential for a good work life. If you notice on the interview that your boss does not get you, or you do not get him/her, this will not change once you start working there. Use the interview to find out if your boss is interested in what you have to say and understands what's important to in your career before you accept an offer to work there.

If You Don't Get Along With Co-Workers, You Never Will

If you sense there is a problem with someone you will be working with, listen to what your inner voice is telling you. Working relationships with people you do not like on the interview will only get harder as the time you spend with them increases. If you prefer team-oriented environments and your future co-worker says she and others prefer to work alone, recognize that the environment is not a match for you.

Stop Worrying About Being Selected

Wanting to be selected by an employer sometimes has us talk ourselves into a situation we might not have taken if we were thinking more clearly. The purpose of an interview is for both parties to interview each other to see if there is a fit. Don't try to talk yourself into believing a job is for you when you know in your heart that it is not. This is a recipe for disaster.

Decide What You Want First

Make a list of what's important to you in a job before going into the interview. Is your workspace a priority? Then ask to see it before you make a decision. Do you want to work 9 to 5pm? Then ask your future boss and colleagues what their days consist of. If they tell you that they arrive in the office at 7am and leave around 8pm, you should expect the same. (Don't kid yourself into thinking otherwise.) Deciding what you want ahead of time will give you the opportunity to ask questions
to assess whether you really want the job.

Don't Sell Out

It is ok to take a job because you need the money. But if it's not the right job for you, then give yourself a timeframe for moving on, and then stick to it. I work with many clients who agreed to less than perfect positions believing they would stay for just one year. But the year frequently became two, and then more, even though the jobs were not satisfying. An interim position is just that. Don't sell out.

Be Yourself

There really is no other way to find out if you will be accepted for who you are or not. You may fool the people with whom you interview to get the job, but you will only be fooling yourself once you get there and you have to be someone else.

So what do you say? You only have one life to live so it might as well be a life you love!

- Deborah Brown-Volkman

President of Surpass Your Dreams, Inc.

Surpass Your Dreams is a successful career and mentor coaching company that has been delivering a message of motivation, success, and personal fulfillment since 1998. We work with Senior Executives, Vice Presidents, and Managers who are out of work or overworked. Deborah is also the creator of the Career Escape Program and author of Coach Yourself To A New Career: A Book To Discover Your Ultimate Profession. Deborah Brown-Volkman can be reached at
www.surpassyourdreams.com, www.career-escape-program.com,
info@surpassyourdreams.com, or at (631) 874-2877.